Native tribes await return of artifacts locked away in US museums

Two Native American halls were boarded up months ago at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, with reopening years away.

Indigenous artifacts remained out of view but still in museums six months after closures due to federal regulations requiring tribal consent.

Museum officials said they were committed to returning sacred relics, but some tribe leaders said they had yet to hear from them.

Joe Baker, a member of the Lenape tribe, said a small ceremonial doll known as an Ohtas, sought for years, was among the items in the closed displays.

The sacred doll belonged to the Munsee-Delaware Nation in Ontario, Canada, but had been inappropriately exhibited since the 1950s.